Decisions · Layer 1
Should you add more loyalty tiers when status loses meaning
Repair the behaviour and value gap before adding another tier. Add one only when it creates a distinct, fundable benefit and a member can understand the action that earns it.
Repair the behaviour and value gap before adding another tier. Add one only when it creates a distinct, fundable benefit and a member can understand the action that earns it.
## The decision boundary Tier inflation divides an unchanged experience into more labels. Each tier needs a threshold, benefit, eligibility rule, and funding owner.
## The options
### Consolidate tiers Choose this when adjacent tiers share benefits or actions. The cost is additional operating complexity.
### Redesign benefits Choose this when rewards no longer differentiate. The cost is more measurement and exception handling.
### Add a tier Choose this when a real segment needs a different promise. The cost is a stronger funding and review obligation.
## What it costs you The currency is liability, margin, engineering time, operating capacity, or member trust. In a hypothetical illustration, 2 points per dollar on 400 dollars of spend creates 800 points. At a hypothetical 1 cent value, that is 8 dollars of liability. Ten comparable cases therefore represent 80 dollars of stated value.
## How to decide 1. Name the behaviour or obligation the rule must control. 2. Identify the independent evidence that proves the event. 3. Price the member, operating, and liability cost of each option. 4. Choose the least complex control that protects the least reversible outcome. 5. Set the evidence that would cause a later review.
## What breaks The failure mode is a rule that measures its own success. Keep source evidence, eligibility, issuance, adjustment, and fulfilment separately observable. Revisit the recommendation when the balance has no meaningful value or the event cannot be independently verified.